Member Story:
“Risk for Cardiac Problems Due to Cholesterol”

I’d scheduled expensive executive physicals for years, with blood tests, stress tests, cholesterol checks and more — always being told the findings were ‘normal’ and my lifestyle was ‘fine.’ Imagine how I felt when the experts at PinnacleCare told me I’d been badly misinformed, and was at risk for serious cardiac problems!

"My life was dangerously at risk. PinnacleCare, downsize me!"

PinnacleCare advisors had discovered the oversights as they were reviewing the last six months of my medical records together with a PinnacleCare consulting physician. There was more distressing news: No one had told me to follow up on any cardiac or lipid issues — even though I was struggling with weight and blood pressure problems, and met all of the criteria for severe coronary problems.

They also learned that one of my doctors had eliminated my blood pressure medication. Others were worried about a ‘fatty liver,’ but no one suggested a lifestyle change. And my total cholesterol score was only ‘fine’ because my HDL levels were way too low and my triglycerides were severely too high, which averaged out to ‘normal.’

Naturally I was annoyed; I insisted I didn’t have a problem. But I finally agreed to have an Executive Physical with a top Cardiac/Lipid Specialist.

The firm is now allowing its entire adviser force to refer clients to PinnacleCare, which also created a new elder-care assessment… Many advisers feel that dealing with elder-care issues isn’t their responsibility. But as clients age, “you’re going to be doing this whether you want to or not.”

In a time of serious illness, these advocates can help research new treatments that doctors may not know a lot about, cut through the medical bureaucracy, and perhaps help frame medical decisions more objectively than stressed out patients and their family members. Advocates are not just there to help you heal but also to keep you healthy.

— Anne Tergesen, “Your Guide to the Medical Maze”

Consider hiring a private patient advocate… It could help get you the care you need.

— Judy Foreman, “For when a doctor and a nurse just aren’t enough”

“Pinnacle provided me with a name and with research that said, ‘here’s how other people are going it, and here’s who has the most long-term survivors, and here are their stories.’ What I got from that was hope. Not a bad return on investment.”

— Gregory Taggart, “Deluxe Health Care”

“I always thought the medical staff would return phone calls, answer questions and discuss treatment plans and options. I was wrong.” So the family turned to…PinnacleCare for help. Within one day, a doctor on the company’s staff reviewed her mother’s medical records and set up a conference call with a neurosurgeon from Johns Hopkins and a neurologist from Rush University Medical Center, who agreed to take on the case. “We needed someone on our side.”